Pick-Ups & Deliveries: October 2014

on
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
October was a surprisingly spendy month for me. Not that I don't do some crazy shopping most months of the year, but I didn't actually expect to spend so much (or find so many deals) last month. More surprising was that it all started with The Body Shop. I usually only shop there once or twice a year, when they're having their crazy good sales, so when I got an e-mail saying they were having a sale for 50% off all their body products, I took the opportunity to stock up:

Bar Soap in Honeymania (x3), Shea, Moringa, Mango, Satsuma, and Pink Grapefruit at $2.50 each

Shower Gel in Moringa, Mango, Honeymania, and Pink Grapefruit at $4.50 each

Spa Wisdom Africa Shea Butter & Sesame Body Balm and Spa Wisdom Polynesia Monoi Body Balm at $12 each

Body Butter in Japanese Cherry Blossom, Atlas Mountain Rose, Fijian Water Lotus, and Indian Night Jasmine at $10 each

The best shower poufs in the world (!) at $1.50 each

And then Lush came out with their holiday stuff. You might have noticed that I've slowed down on my Lush hauling. I go through phases with Lush, and their spring/summer offerings never entice me as much as their fall/winter ones. But I still have about 20 bubble bars and bath bombs from last year that I have yet to use, so I've decided to keep those to a minimum this holiday season. It's not too difficult for me as I don't take baths often and I don't like most of their holiday scents. But I did make one exception, and that is So White. It smells like fresh, crisp apples. Not the cloying, overly sweet, artificial apple smell. But the real, slightly tart kind. And it's amazing. It doesn't smell Christmassy at all, so I'm not sure why they only release it during the holidays, but it's possibly the best scent that Lush has ever come out with (along with my beloved Slammer Shower Gel, which was discontinued). So I picked up one bath bomb even though I said I wouldn't buy anymore this year. Because I will clean my tub and carve out time to take a bath just to use that damn thing. And because the Lush gods finally heard my pleas, they have also released So White Shower Gel (!), so I obviously had to buy the biggest bottle of it that I could find. I also picked up a tub of the new Snowman Shower Jelly 'cause y'all know my love for their shower jellies and this one smells fresh and fruity (again, don't know why this is released for holiday only). And I finally bought the New Charity Pot (I hated the original, but the new one has a lovely soft floral scent), of which 100% of the selling price goes to grassroots charities.

Lush So White Bath Bomb, So White Shower Gel, Snowman Shower Jelly, and New Charity Pot Body Lotion

Then Sephora happened. Sephora always happens. But this time around, I went in with my friend Viv, and her friend who works there gave us two Friends & Family sale coupons, which entitled us to get 20% off. I was like, "What! Pre-VIB-sale sale!" So, I bought things:

Urban Decay Naked Illuminated Shimmering Powder in Aura and Perversion Mascara

NARS Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow in Himalia, Callisto, and Phoebe

Lancôme Grandiôse Mascara and Artliner Precision Point Eyeliner in Noir

Fresh Umbrian Clay Mattifying Face Exfoliant

Aritzia, notorious for only ever having sales at the end of seasons, surprised their Canadian customers by having a ridiculously good online-only Thanksgiving weekend sale: 40 - 60% off fall/winter styles. So, yet again, I found myself having to take full advantage:

TNA Redington Jacket (for $69.99 from $120) and Babaton Alfred T-Shirt (for $42.50 from $75)

Wilfred Arnauld Blazer (for $112.50 from $225) and Babaton Augustus Blouse (for $59.99 from $120)

Finally, I bit the bullet and got myself the new iPhone 6. I'd been using an iPhone 4S for two years and it's been slowly deteriorating (apps freezing up, phone restarting on its own, battery life draining exponentially faster, etc.), on top of the fact that 32GB just wasn't cutting it. I started having to delete a photo for every new one I wanted to take. So I reserved a silver 64GB iPhone 6, and it arrived this past weekend. Signed a new two-year contract (in which they let me keep my grandfathered 6GB data plan), redeemed my Fido dollars, and got my phone for about 1/3 of the retail price. 

Apple iPhone 6

And as I am writing this on the heels of a shopping spree from Sephora's VIB Rouge sale, I can tell you now that November is looking to be even more dangerous than this past month.
19 comments on "Pick-Ups & Deliveries: October 2014"
  1. Holy crap, I can't wait for your Nov haul post. LOL

    Are you using bar soaps now? I'd use them except they all get waterlogged eventually and I hate when hair gets stuck on them.

    I once kept LUSH bubbleroons for months w/o using them and they became completely drained of their colour so you could no longer see the cute designs. I just stick to their toners now and the odd bath bomb. But come Boxing Day, I will cut bitches left and right to get to discounted Golden Wonder bombs. I love that thing.

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    1. Hehe you're so cute Liz. If we are ever in the same city, I shall remember not to come in your way during Boxing Day. *grin*

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    2. LOL, so it's literally been just over a week into November and I've already spent more than I did in all of October. Fucking VIB sale, man.

      And I have pretty much switched to bar soaps for hands. I'm allergic to something in a lot of liquid hand soaps so I've stopped using them in my house until I can figure out what the culprit is. :( I still use regular body wash for the shower.

      I just checked some of my bath bombs and bubble bars and so far they still look and smell the same, but I do think I should use them before winter's over, lol.

      LOL, I have a Golden Wonder bath bomb from last year that I have not touched yet. I think I just bought it because it looked pretty, but why do you love it more than the others?

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    3. It's just the best -- the smell, the little gold stars in the water, lots of bubbles and the beautiful turquoise colour of the water. :D

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    4. TURQUOISE! I really should use mine ASAP. I think I might do like, a bath challenge just to use up all my bath bombs, LOL!

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  2. LOL Denise. HURRAY for a new phone! That's magnificent. But holy cow, 64GB! That's magnificent.

    I bought things during FF, too. And I was going to skip VIB. But now we know that's not going to happen. BUT it's my birthday month and I feel that excuses all things.

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    1. LOL, I was contemplating getting the 128GB and was like, "Maaaaayyybe that's overkill..." I have a lot of music, okay? :P

      YES BIRTHDAY MONTH. This is also my excuse for ridiculous purchasing this month. I spent WAY MORE than I care to admit on the VIB sale. Not to mention that there was a Shiseido warehouse sale last Friday, where I got a bunch of Shiseido skincare and a ton of NARS make-up that I definitely didn't need... :P

      When is your birthday? :)

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    2. The 22nd. When is yours?

      I also have a lot of music, but I don't keep it on my phone anymore, lol. Just a couple of albums at a time!

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    3. The 15th! Are you a 1986 baby, too?

      I keep all my music on my phone 'cause it's my iPod, too, and I don't listen to the radio. :P

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    4. We are the same age! Don't ask me what that is, because I always forget!

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  3. OK. 32GB for an iPhone 4S is not so easy. I had 16GB on an iPhone 5 and I was in pain - from the lack of space as well as the speed of iOS 8. I swear they do it on purpose, to convince us to get the iPhone 6. I caved. Got a space grey one.

    Speaking of shopping sprees, I'm sitting here commenting on your blog after making 4 separate hauls on Sephora. Granted there are few items in each of these hauls - but they are separate to take advantage of different codes I had - some with extra points and of course VIB Rouge. I want to enjoy the Rouge benefits without remembering how much money I have spent to get there. *Sniff*

    Curious to know what you think about the Grandiose mascara. I have 1 NARS Dual Intensity eyeshadow. The texture is really nice and it is so blendable.

    You're killing me with Aritzia here. I'm going to Seattle next week for work and I'm trying to psyche myself to not step into their store, because the last time I was there I erm..spent. But I have been itching to get a TNA hoodie, I don't know why. I think I just like the logo. Is that okay?

    Happy to read your posts as always. And I'm now curious about that Body Shop soap..

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    1. I didn't even update to the iOS 8 on my 4S. It's slow as it is on the 7. I just use it as my iPod now, though. :) And, seriously, after switching to the 6, I'm like, "How did I ever live with a screen SO DAMN SMALL?"

      LOLLLL, I made three separate Sephora hauls during the VIB sale. Do Sephora hold that sale over there?

      So far, I'm not a fan of the Grandiose mascara. I knew it was a risk by getting it, though, 'cause I've never met a plastic mascara brush that I liked. And this hasn't changed my mind. It's good for separating, but I feel like it doesn't do much else. I need to layer on a volumizing mascara on top. I think it's a good mascara for someone with naturally thick lashes.

      Haha, yeah, it's totally okay to get a TNA hoodie for the logo. I think most people do, lol. On that note, I have a bunch of TNA hoodies from high school (over ten years ago) and they're still in amazing condition, so the quality is there, too. :)

      Which Body Shop soap?

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    2. We don't have Sephora here unfortunately. There's very little competition here for cosmetics. Mostly it's one chain known as KICKS (that also owns the other chain - Esthetique) and the prices are quite expensive. They used to also own the MAC store, but I think there are standalone MAC stores these days and I'm hoping they will have better range, like the Pure Orange corrector for example - that is not available unless I get the whole concealer palette which is kind of not so useful for a regular person like me.

      I bought stuff from Sephora because I was in the US for a week and then before I went there, my husband was in the US for a week so I coordinated my purchases such that they would arrive in the hotel in time for us :) VIB Rouge's 3 day free shipping is priceless.

      Yes, Grandiose isn't that great unfortunately. I haven't found a good volumizing mascara so in a way, I've kind of given up. I'm happy with separating and some length though I would rather have volumizing and separating, but no length. The search continues...

      Darn. Didn't managed to get the TNA hoodie as I didn't have much time in Aritzia. But I love my Wilfred blanket scarf. It's a dream!

      Honeymania soap :) We don't get deals like that here at Body Shop. Compared to Germany and UK, Body Shop is a bit more high-end here in Norway.

      Sorry for the delayed response! :)

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    3. OMG. There's no Sephora there?!?!?!!!!

      Actually, I'd probably spend a lot less if there wasn't Sephora here. Blessing in disguise? :P

      MAC only carries the Pure Orange corrector at their PRO Stores (or online in North America), but you can always try the Prep + Prime Highlighter in Peach Lustre if you don't live near one!

      I hated Grandiose so much that I actually ended up returning it. My favourite mascara right now is Urban Decay's Perversion Mascara. So much so that I just bought my third tube of it!

      Think I might get a Wilfred Blanket scarf during Boxing Week. I wanna see if there's any deals on it first, lol.

      I'm using the Honeymania soap right now, and it's really nice! I quite like the scent of it. And it's super-cute. :) It's weird, Body Shop always has crazy deals here. Maybe because it's not as popular here (Bath & Body Works is far more popular) and they want to get more traffic.

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  4. i do find your haul posts to be the most gratifying lol there's always so many things to look at and OOOO over. i love them

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    1. LOL, I'm glad you enjoy them. ;) I love reading/watching hauls, which is why I started doing them, too. Still have to post reviews of products I bought in September, LOL.

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  5. I upgrade to the iPhone 6 last month and it has been SO MUCH BETTER - I had the 4 (not even the 4S, just the 4) and it has been shit for like a year. AND it was only 8G!!!!!! So you can imagine how terrible it was. My new one is only 16G though haha...never even considered getting more. I'm not much of a techie I guess. I dropped my phone yesterday though and the screen smashed bad...thank GOD I got Apple care this time so it'll only cost $80 to replace the screen. It still broke my heart ~cries~

    In other news...I think you had a great haul month, with a variety of fun things :)

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    1. LOLLLLL, yessss, the upgrade was TOTALLY worth it for you!

      OMG I would actually be crying if I dropped my new phone. Because I did not have the foresight of getting Apple Care. EEEEEP. I think I might get my phone layered with a protective coating (they have those kiosks at malls that do them). The guy at Apple said he got it done and it was the best $50 he spent because he drops his phone all the time and it's never damaged.

      I got 64GB because I use my phone as my iPod, too, and I have nearly 30GB of music. :P

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